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Casting is officially underway to find Daniel Craig’s successor for the coveted role of James Bond. <\/p>\n
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Amazon MGM has officially announced that the search for the new 007 is on, with celebrated British casting director Nina Gold (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Conclave, Game of Thrones, The Crown, Slow Horses) confirmed to be meeting with young actors for the role. <\/p>\n
Amazon MGM Studios said last week: \u201cThe search for the next James Bond is underway. While we don\u2019t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we\u2019re excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.\u201d <\/p>\n
Translation: The wheels are officially turning and while auditions are taking place, feverish casting speculation will continue, and the chances are that whoever gets mentioned as the latest frontrunner to become Bond probably won\u2019t get his \u201800\u2019 status. <\/p>\n
The rumour mill has already given us names like Aaron Taylor-Johnson<\/a>, Tom Holland<\/a>, Harris Dickinson<\/a> and Scott Rose-Marsh<\/a>, with additional rumours suggesting that Callum Turner had already been cast as Bond<\/a>. <\/p>\n The recent hot favourite following the release of Frankenstein<\/a> and Wuthering Heights<\/a> has been Jacob Elordi<\/a>. <\/p>\n Following the announcement that Nina Gold was on the case, three new names have added themselves to the ever-growing list of the men who could be Bond. <\/p>\n The first is Jack Lowden, the 35-year-old actor who Gold cast in Slow Horses as River Cartwright. Spy credentials? Check. Charisma levels? Suit him up. Pre-existing rapport with the casting director? Done. Married to Saoirse Ronan who has previously expressed an interest in being cast as a Bond villain<\/a>? Make this happen. <\/p>\n The second name being whispered in the Bond corridors is that of Louis Patridge, who has starred in Disclaimer, Paddington 2 and as Edward Guinness in the Netflix series House of Guinness \u2013 the show created by new Bond scribe Steven Knight<\/a>. At 23-years-old, he might be a smidge too young for Bond, but reports suggest that Amazon are looking for a younger actor to don the tux for a five-to-six film run. Could be a good fit.<\/p>\n The third name is Tom Francis, who has reportedly auditioned for Gold, according to Variety. The 26-year-old is best known for his performance as Joe Gillis in Jamie Lloyd’s revival of Andrew Lloyd Weber\u2019s Sunset Boulevard, for which he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He was also in last year\u2019s Jay Kelly alongside George Clooney and made his TV debut in the show You. <\/p>\n While it\u2019s worth taking all these contenders with a pinch of salt, as the audition process is ongoing – and traditionally, once a name is out there, the chances are it\u2019ll be another actor who gets the role \u2013 someone with Francis\u2019 profile seems like the right fit for 007. <\/p>\n The role of Bond usually makes the star, and rising performers are usually favoured. Sean Connery was a relative unknown before Bond; George Lazenby had never acted outside of a few ads; Roger Moore was a household name thanks to The Saint but hadn\u2019t had a huge break on the big screen; Timothy Dalton had a great stage career but was not an established movie star; Pierce Brosnan was a Bond hopeful for years but remained best known for his role as Remington Steele in the TV show of the same name… Only Daniel Craig had some major big screen credentials with memorable roles in Road To Perdition, Layer Cake and Munich… However, it was Casino Royale<\/a> that made him a bona fide leading man. <\/p>\n With this in mind, and the fact that already established stars command higher salaries, the odds are that Amazon will bank on a relatively unknown actor in his late 20s rather than someone who is already in demand. <\/p>\n